


Qernz Haerfgvat, Yvrf Funerq. Jurer ner jr tbvat? Jub nz V?

by monakaatowa



Series: Dreams AU [4]
Category: PJ Masks (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, mmmmmmAAAAAA, other characters from the book will appear
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-09-18
Packaged: 2019-05-09 17:39:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14720636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monakaatowa/pseuds/monakaatowa
Summary: Dreams. Whether a literal guide, or the concept of them, we all treated them differently. Sometimes we let them control us. Other times we shaped them of our own accord. But dreams left tainted don't heal as easily. So who will take the blame? Me, or you? (Continuation of Things Change)





	1. Chapter 1

After going out on our nightly patrol, I’d usually be all too eager to curl up and fall asleep, but tonight felt off. It wasn't the weather, and it was even less likely that anyone else is outside at night. Regardless, something inside of me felt deeply unsettled.

I felt a pull on my blanket, then something jumped on me. Whiskers was the cat my mom got me for my tenth birthday, and after more than a year he always liked to crawl into bed around the same time I did.

I took a deep breath and scratched under his chin. He leaned in and began to purr, walking onto my pillow. I then patted him on the head, and he looked right at me.

His eyes were pitch black, and he lunged for my neck.

I screamed, pushing him off the bed and causing him to fall into the nightstand. The lamp on it wobbled, then crashed against the floor.

Panting from fear, I looked at the floor to see that I had actually thrown my old stuffed cat toy. Whiskers was sitting at the foot of my bed with his innocent little eyes focused on me

It was a nightmare, but that didn't make the damage any less real.

Footsteps stormed up the staircase, and the door was flung open. “Connor,  _ again _ ?” my mother groaned.

I looked at the lamp, then back at my mom. My dad had also showed up, brows furrowed in disappointment, while Whiskers began to groom himself.

“I-I’m sorry, mom, it just happened.” I said. While I knew that she wouldn't punish me for something I did in a nightmare, it still hurt to know I couldn't stop it from happening again.

“It's okay, Connor,” my dad tried to reassure me. “At least it was just the lamp.”

“Sorry.” I repeated.

She looked at the lamp, and I moved to clean up the pieces.

“I'll get a broom.” I said, and dashed out of my room. When I returned, I saw my parents huddled close, whispering as to avoid anyone overhearing. I hid behind the door frame and secretly listened in on their conversation.

“I’m not sure anymore.” mom said. “Maybe we should take him to the sleep study like the doctor recommended.”

“He doesn’t need that.” my dad insisted.  “We should make him go to sleep earlier, or exercise. He’s not healthy.”

“We’ve been doing that!” she snapped. “We can’t be expecting him to do everything. The least we could do as parents is give him the support we can.”

Dad sighed, crossing his arms. “Fine. Sleep study. But you’re taking him there. You don’t understand how busy I am trying to support our life here.” With that, dad stormed away, not noticing me as he walked past.

Mom stood in my room for a few seconds, then walked away. She briefly glanced at me as she walked past, and a look of horror flashed across her face before she chased after him. Not wanting to hear their argument, I went back to bed and wrapped my pillow around my head as their yelling echoed off the walls. Usually I would stay over at Greg’s house….but it was still a little weird between the two of us. And there’s no way Amaya’s mom would let me stay over. So I turned on my side, shutting out the noise until I couldn’t take it anymore.

“That’s it!” I snapped, getting out of bed and tapping my bracelet. “Catboy!” A mysterious blue energy flew through my window and enveloped me, and I transformed back into Catboy. I jumped out the window and ran through the town, back to HQ. When I entered the door, I saw PJ Robot beep in confusion and rush over to me.

“Er, I thought I saw a nighttime villain running around, so I thought we could patrol….just in case.”

It stared at me for a few seconds before beeping happily, and taking off for the Cat Car. I jumped in the driver's seat, glancing at Gekko’s passage for a second before shaking my head and driving out the hatch. We took off towards the museum, which usually was a hotbed of activity, but nothing was happening other than Luna Girl working on one of her paintings. I then remembered that I saw her a couple weeks ago during the day, and thought to ask her about that.

I pulled over the car in front of the gate and told PJ Robot to stay behind, so it didn’t look like I was trying to pick a fight. “Hey, Luna Girl--”

“What?” she asked, turning away from her painting of the museum to talk. Wow, it looked really great, compared to the one she made years ago. “Don’t bother me. I’m not doing anything wrong.”

“Yeah, I know.” I said, trying not to set off her temper. “It’s just, didn’t I see you at school a couple week ago?”

“I don’t go to--oh. That.” she said, her shoulders slumping slightly. “It was nothing, okay? So stop asking about it!”

“I only asked once!” I yelled. Geez, she can get really touchy sometimes. “Nevermind then. I’ll take your word for it.”

“Whatever.” she sighed, turning back to her painting. “Now go away. I’m trying to concentrate.”

“One more thing.” I said, a certain incident popping into my head. “Uh, this may be a weird question--”

“Everything you PJ Pests do is weird.” she interrupted, rolling her eyes.

“Just listen. When you stole those balloons a while back, did you say anything weird to Gekko?”

“What balloons?” she said, cocking her eyebrows. “I never stole any stupid balloons.”

“But Gekko said you did.”

“Then he lied, for whatever reason.” she said. “What a jerk.”

“....Thanks.” I said. “Guess I’ll be going now.”

“You better.”

PJ Robot was a little sad that he didn’t get to do anything, but a little pat on the head comforted him enough that he went back to HQ without any protest. I parked the Cat Car back where it belonged and returned home. Mom and Dad weren’t arguing anymore, so I took that as a good sign and tried to go back to sleep again.

The next day, I got up for breakfast by myself. Mom works at home, and Dad only leaves in the evening, so they usually only get up with me in a good mood. Fat chance as to that happening today.

I ate a piece of toast and rushed out the door to meet Amaya and walk to school together with her. Greg stopped walking to school with us after our talk, and it was hard to get used to. Amaya saw me leave my house and waved, then rubbed her eyes.

“Did you have any weird dreams last night again?” Amaya asked. Was it written all over my face?

“Yeah. There was a huge fight about it.” I yawned. “You know how my dad can get.”

Her face wrinkled at the mention of him. He’s never like me hanging out with Amaya and Greg all the time. One summer, he even sent me to stay with Grandpa and be friends with my cousin’s summer basketball team.

“I bet.” she said. “I think I’m having those dreams too.”

“Huh?” I said. “Are you okay?”

“It’s fine. I’m fine.” she said, rubbing her eyes again. “I woke up screaming and scared my mom.”

“Sounds familiar.” I said. “I can’t keep letting this happen. Do you think there’s a, uh--” I paused when we walked by another group of kids heading towards the elementary school.

“Nighttime villain?” Amaya finished, lowering her voice. “Are any of them capable of something like this?”

“I don’t know. But we might as well give it a try, right?” I said. “Let’s talk later. Kinda hard right now.”

She nodded. “By the by, did you study for the foreign language test today?”

I nearly tripped when she said that. “D-Depends what you mean by ‘study’.” I said. “I mean, I would’ve, but it all kinda slipped my mind. Hah!”

Amaya didn’t need to say anything. She opened her backpack and pulled out a small packet, handing it to me. “Here’s a study guide on things to know I made last night. That’s your last class, right? Looks like you have plenty of time to study.”

I smiled. “Seriously, you’re amazing. I don’t try half as hard as you do.”

“You can thank me later.” she said. Once we reached the gate, we cut through the hedges and entered through the middle school entrance. Since the town was small, the middle school and elementary school are annexed into one building.

We went inside, struggling to get through the stream of kids and get to our lockers. Once Amaya put away her backpack, she said, “I gotta run. Student council stuff.”

I waved. “See ya later.”

“See you!”

I shoved my backpack away and intended to leave as fast as possible, but ran into an obstacle. A small, green obstacle.

“Ow!” Greg said, stepping out of my way. He rubbed his eyes, and I immediately realized that they were as red and puffy as Amaya’s were. “Sorry.” he quickly squirmed past me and shoved his backpack away at breakneck speed before darting off again.

“Greg, wait!” I yelled, but he already ran off who knows where. Some kids were whispering and pointing at me, so I decided to hide out at the elementary school playground and study before classes started.

Amaya read the announcements, then came back to class. We were partners in a science experiment that took up the entire morning class. Cameron caused a scene, his unfortunate victim being Greg, but what else was new? Other than that, the day seemed to pass in a flurry of boring work and desperate studying whenever possible.

“I don’t think I completely failed.” I said to Amaya as we walked out of school. Well, just me. Amaya needed to stay behind for council stuff.

“Remember what the principal says. Confidence is the key to success!” she said, laughing. “I’m sure you did fine.”

“Yeah. Guess there’s no point worrying about it now.” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. “I’m gonna run home and take a nap. When you’re done, we can go play at the park.”

“Sure!” she said. “I’ll see you then.”

I ran all the way home, and said goodbye to Dad as he got into his car. He didn’t even look at me. I tried to ignore the sinking feeling in my chest as I went inside the house. My mom saw me and quickly put a hand over her face. She was vacuuming the living room, and I helped her clean the rest of the house before crashing for an hour. At least during the daytime, I don’t have any of those stupid nightmares.

I slept my way through most of the afternoon. Homework wasn’t a problem, since it was Friday, so I could be as lazy as I wanted.

Until I heard a knock on the door.

“Connor, honey, can you get it?” I heard my mom yell, her voice accompanied by the clattering of her keyboard. I rushed downstairs and opened the door, expecting it to be Amaya, but instead there was this strange lady.

Not that she looked strange, but it--it didn’t feel real. Was I dreaming? Some kind of waking nightmare?

She smiled, and pressed a letter into my hands. She wore an oversized coat that nearly glittered in the daylight. “For your mother. Please have her read it.”

“I’m sorry, who are you?” I said, but the moment I blinked, she was gone. I heard my mom come down from her office, and she looked at the door in confusion.

“Who was at the door?” she asked. I didn’t know how to answer, so I handed her the letter instead. She tore it open and glanced at it, then slammed her hand against the wall.

“But they said--!” she gasped, then looked at me. “C-Connor, how about you go play outside for a little bit?”

I went outside. It was more like I was kicked out, but I didn’t want to make mom more upset. The sun hung high over my head, so I decided to go to the park. I grabbed my skateboard so I could use the ramps and rode it all the way there.

Along the way, I rode by Cameron’s house, and came across a strange surprise. I stopped riding when I was far enough away that they wouldn’t notice me, and stared at them in bewilderment.

Is that Greg? With Cameron? Greg was saying something to him, and Cameron had his hand on the doorknob. Then he opened the door and slammed it in his face. I was staring for a while, until Greg noticed me. Then, I ran as fast as possible.

 

\---

 

That night, Owlette and I set out on our usual nightly patrols. Without Gekko, it took us longer to clear the whole city, but it’s not like we lived in a particularly big place. The museum was clear, as were the streets, the school, and HQ, along with any other places that trouble happened.

Or so it seemed.

We ran into each other on the roof of the school. “Not finding anything so far.” she said. “You?”

“It’s quiet.”

“Too quiet.” she added. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“So, we’re clear?” I said.

“Seems like it. But, first--” Owlette began, but suddenly her eyes grew wide and she tackled me to the ground. My back hit the pavement, and I heard something collide against the school.

“Hey!” I cried, pushing her off me. “What was that for!?”

“Up there!” she shouted, pointing at the roof. Or what remained of it. The entire thing was blown off completely, and two bright lights lit up the inside of the building. A second later, those lights shot up into the sky, continuously bashing against each other before taking off for the other side of town.

“We need to follow them!” she yelled, spreading her wings and taking off into the sky.

“R-Right!” I said. I used my Super Cat Speed to chase after her on the ground. “Hey, I’m supposed to be the speedster around here!”

“This is an emergency!” she cried. “There’s no time for jokes!” The two lights hurled themselves towards the ground again, dragging themselves towards the lake--towards HQ.

“We need to stop them!” I yelled. “Owlette, get their attention!”

“Right!” she said. They landed in the lake, and she waited until they emerged again. Once they did, she fired a barrage of sharp feathers at them. I heard a hiss, and the shadowy looking light of the two separated itself from the yellow light and lunged at her. She flew away before it could get her, and I ran as fast as I could to catch up. They escaped into the woods, and I barely managed to set off my stripes and tie up the creature before it could get to her.

She landed on the ground and fell to her knees. “I don’t think I’ve ever flown that fast before.” she sighed.

“What is this thing?” I said. It was tied up in my stripes, so it wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon….whatever it was. At one moment, it looked like a ferocious lion, then it grew wings, then those wings changed to legs. The only thing that was consistent about it was its beady, black eyes.

Black eyes?

“I have no idea.” she said, walking closer to it. It snarled, and she jumped back in fright.

“It’s some kind of monster.” I said.

“Where’s the other one?”

“The other one?”

“There was another light, wasn’t there?” she continued. “But it didn’t chase us.”

“So?” I said. “Maybe they were fighting, and--or….”

“Hmm. How about taking it back to HQ?” she said. “If we can.”

“That thing’ll tear your arm off.” I said. “I’ll grab it.” I moved closer to the creature, and in response it grew a lion’s paw and swiped at me. Owlette grabbed me before it could attack and pulled me away.

“You need to be careful!” she snapped.

“What are we supposed to do then!?” I said. The stripes were set to disappear at any minute, and I knew I couldn’t let this thing rampage in the streets any longer.

“I don’t know, but don’t get killed trying to be a hero!” she said.

I crossed my arms. “I know what you’re thinking.”

She looked like she was about to punch me. “What?”

“If Gekko was here, he could use his shields and his strength to bring him back, right? But he isn’t, so we need to handle this ourselves!”

Her look of anger faded into one of realization. “I already know that.” she said. “You don’t.”

“Yes, I do! I’m the leader!”

“Recklessly throwing yourself into danger isn’t something a leader would do.” she shot back. “Listen, you need to run back and--”

Before she could finish her sentence, the stripes finally broke, and the creature broke free. It transformed into a cheetah, staring at us with those eyes.

“Don’t move.” I said, but Owlette didn’t look like she was ready to run anytime soon. She and the creature locked eyes for a moment. It then looked at me.

Those eyes. I knew I’d seen them somewhere before, but it was something I didn’t want to remember.

“Stop looking at me like that!” I yelled. “And leave our home alone!”

It didn’t try to maul me like I expected. It growled, then turned away, transforming into an eagle before taking off.

“It’s gone.” Owlette gasped.”Catboy….what just happened?”

“I don’t know.” I said. “I’m just thankful that I didn’t die.”

Owlette didn’t say anything. “If they’re not causing any more trouble, we should go home.” I said. “I don’t want that thing coming back.”

“Yeah.” she said. Without a word, we went back home. Owlette flew me back up to my window, and I climbed into bed.

I didn’t have any nightmares that night, but I dreamt I was trapped under a bright light. 

Can cages bring comfort?

 

\---

 

I stopped going to school with Connor and Amaya a while ago. Er, it was more like Connor started to avoid me. I don’t know what Amaya thinks. Maybe she’d rather avoid me too.

….It’s not like I have any self esteem issues, but I wonder if there’s something about me that makes me so pathetic. If it was obvious enough that  _ Night Ninja  _ of all people could figure it out, then I bet it’s something that everyone knows about me. Not that I can blame them. I’m almost the youngest person in my grade, and I can’t do presentations, I’m not good at talking to strangers or doing phone calls. Is there anything I can do right? I can’t even be a good superhero.

I brushed my hand against the wristband I still had. I couldn’t figure out how to take it off, and there’s no way I feel safe to dispose of those PJs. The last thing I’d want to do is cause more trouble for Catboy and Owlette by having them fall into the wrong hands. Thinking of them again, I couldn’t help but glance at Connor and Amaya as they entered the school gates.

I try not to think about them anymore as I head to school, but it’s hard not to. They were the only friends I had, and now I stuck out as some loner. At least I was lucky enough to not go to school with mean bullies. Once I got to school, I shoved my backpack away as fast as possible, but couldn’t avoid running into him. Literally.

“Sorry.” I mumbled, running away from him.

“Greg, wait!” he yelled, but I ignored him and showed up early to science class. I sat in the back, since Amaya would probably sit with Connor in the front. 

Hm. Was Connor the one avoiding me, or was I avoiding him?

Nevermind. Class started before I could finish that train of thought. As everyone slowly filtered in, I saw Cameron trudge towards the back and take a seat next to me.

“Hey, Cameron.” I said.

“Leave me alone.” he said, shuffling through his pocket and checking his phone for a few seconds before putting it back.

“Sorry.” I muttered. The teacher, who had gray, ruffled hair and had an aura of negativity, scribbled the assignment on the board before plopping behind her desk to read for the rest of the period. The assignment was to measure the heat energy of various foods.

I had a hard time setting up the burner that we were supposed to use, even with the handout she gave us. “Can you help me, Cameron?” I said. He was staring intently at his desk, and when he looked up, it was like I kicked him. He slammed the desk, then yelled at me.

“I don’t care about this stupid class!” he snapped, grabbing the attention of the other kids in the class. No one wanted to sit by Cameron anymore because for months, he’s had an explosive temper and got angry at the littlest things. Of course, that meant I was the only one willing to be his lab partner since the year began. Usually he’d just ditch and I’d work with Connor and Amaya, but that obviously wasn't an option. Some people in the front turned back to their work after realizing it was business as usual.

“Please, can you set up the burner?” I said, lowering my voice and pointing at the instructions. “I’m sorry for, uh, interrupting your….your--”

“My ‘what’?” he said, grabbing me by my jacket. “Finish that sentence, I dare you!”

“I’m sorry!” I yelled.

“Cameron!” I heard Connor yell.

“Excuse me!” the teacher snapped. Cameron finally put me down, looking at the floor as the teacher stormed over to our desk.

“What?” he grunted, causing the teacher to slap her hand against the desk.

“Office. Now.” she said, lip quivering. Cameron loosely shrugged his shoulders and headed out the door. I got sent to a different group, the two kids shooting me a sympathetic glance before going back to work.

Despite his threats, I couldn’t help worrying about him. Those thoughts consumed me throughout the school day. What’s wrong with Cameron? I doubt the teachers or any other students ever bothered to ask him how he was doing. Not that I can blame them, but there’s anyone that he needed to talk to, I didn’t mind being that person.

I waited until after school. Last year, when we were still in elementary school, Cameron would stay to play in the soccer field. After school nowadays, he’d usually stay at the tables in the courtyard if they weren’t destroyed by….someone. So, I waited by the gate. He sat under a tree until most of the crowd had filtered out, then made his way home.

“Hey!” I shouted. He flinched when he saw me, so I took a step back.

“It’s you.” Cameron said. He looked at his shoes, not wanting to make eye contact. “What. What is it.”

“Do you wanna walk home together?” I said. “If you don’t mind.”

“No.” he said, and walked away. After making sure that I was a safe distance away, I followed him.

“I said no!” he shouted.

“But we live the same way.”

“Then--Then don't stalk me.” he shouted. “I'll walk, then say when you can start walking again.”

“.....Alright.” I said. After he’d nearly turned a corner, he looked back at me, and I started to walk. I kept going the same way he did, until I reached the houses closer to the park, where Cameron lived. Looking behind, at me, he quickly darted through the front door before I could stop him.

“Cameron, wait!” I yelled, getting as close as his backyard before realizing this wasn’t a good idea. But when I stopped in front of his house, my foot lightly kicked an object on the ground.

“Huh?” I said, reaching down and grabbing the toy. It was a posable action figure of a ninja, from that action show that came out last year.

I hesitated, but decided to give it back. I went up to the door and knocked on it. “Cameron, you dropped something.”

I heard some shuffling, then the door opened a crack. “What?” he snapped. He looked at my hand, snatching the toy away, then opened the door and ran right past me.

“Hey!” I said. He was searching his backyard for any more fallen toys. Once his search turned up empty, he immediately turned around and tried to go back inside. “Wait!”

“What!?” he yelled, his hand on the doorknob. “We’re not friends, and we won’t be, no matter how much you bug me! So leave me alone!” With that, he slammed the door shut.

No matter what I said, he wouldn’t open the door, so I decided to head home. But when I turned around, I caught sight of Connor on his skateboard. We met eyes for a second before he ran away.

I’ve wondered lately if there’s something about me that makes people avoid me. Now, I’m starting to get some ideas why.


	2. Chapter 2

“There has to be  _ something  _ about those weird lights we saw.” I whispered to Amaya. A town meeting was called because of the destruction to the school last night (Normally I wouldn’t mind getting out of school early, but now’s not the time to be thinking that). Every family was gathered at the museum, school being cancelled for the day. The mayor sauntered up the steps, an old man who was a couple years to retirement, and he tapped the microphone on his makeshift podium to check its sound.

I tried to get closer to Amaya, but my father tapped on my shoulder and told me not to wander off. Every family stood at rapt attention over what the mayor had to announce, but it wasn’t hard to guess what it was about.

“I’m sure you’re all aware of the damages that have been done to our city.” he began. “For years, Tarabiscovillie has been plagued by a magical menace that has threatened to destroy our daily life time and time again.”

“And why hasn’t anything been done about this?” I heard Nicholas’ older sister yell from the front of the crowd. “I can’t take care of my little brother if the city’s getting destroyed all the time!”

“How long until it affects our homes?” Samantha’s father said. “If anything happened to my little girl…” he hugged his daughter while she started to cry. Wow, did the past six years really affect people this badly? Although those….things are pretty scary, the idea of either of the three nighttime villains being frightening enough to bring a family to tears is hard to picture. Then again, you can only imagine what you can’t see.

The crowd quickly broke out into complaints. My dad was trying to quell the chaos, while a few parents stood quietly, other than whispers, in order to not add to it.

“Enough, please!  _ Enough _ !” The mayor cried, and the crowd was mostly hushed. He ignored the side conversations and continued with his speech. “We are all worried. We believed that as long as our guardians of the night were around, we would be safe from whatever threatened us.” A few people looked away from the mayor and towards the lake, where HQ was. Or just a totem, in their eyes. “No one has broken curfew and gone outside, right?”

A few murmurs. “No one’s going to admit it.” I heard Amaya mutter under her breath.

“I'm going to assume innocence.” he said, adjusting his tie for a moment before going back to his speech. “What I am saying is that we may no longer be able to rely on the assistance of these mysterious guardians to defend our city. What we need to do is learn how to prevent these threats ourselves!” His proclamation brought cheers from concerned citizens.

“Now, these methods, in order to achieve victory, must be kept secret.” More side conversations blossomed, but they were easily quelled. “Secret, but an open one. I am inviting all adults to attend another meeting tonight, in order to mobilize and discuss what we should do next. And I'm sure that our guardians will catch wind of what we are planning, and will come to help us hash out the more….supernatural details.” That earned a few looks, but most of the people here already believed in the otherworldly, so it went over well. “In addition, I will be getting in contact with our neighboring city, as they do have spirits that frequent the area that will be willing to help….”

He droned on about the details while people began to filter out and go about their own day. Amaya and I exchanged a look, and I briefly glanced at Greg before turning to my dad and asking to go to the library. He let me go, with a warning to be home before nightfall.

Amaya and I walked there together. “I hope they aren’t expecting us to show up.” she whispered. “I think my mom would have an aneurysm if she knew what we were doing all the time.”

“There’s also another problem.” I began. “They’ll probably be looking for--for these “guardians”,” I changed my wording as two kids walked by. “So they’ll probably be waiting by HQ for us, or looking around the city.”

“Ah.” she sighed. “So even if we don’t show up, there’s a chance they’ll stumble on one of the other nighttime villains. And we can’t warn them!”

Despite all the trouble they cause, they still know who we are. Night Ninja saw our faces, but doesn’t know our names, as far as we know. Luna Girl and Romeo, however, do know. And that’s where our problems crop up.

“So, if we don’t wanna get discovered, we’re gonna have to catch them?” I said. “This is bad.”

“I really hate having to help them, but if we want to keep protecting this city, it’s what we have to do.” she said. “We can hide them in HQ for the night.”

“No way.” I said. “Of all places? There’s no way they  _ won’t  _ cause trouble.”

“Not if they might be caught.” she said. “Do you have any better ideas?”

“Well, no, but, but!” I groaned, tossing my hands in the air. “Fine. HQ.”

“And let’s not forget about those lights.” she said. “We can ask them if they know anything.”

“Maybe.” I said. Once we reached the library, we rushed to the magic and legends section, and took every book that had to do with the night or dreams.

I quickly skimmed through several books, throwing them to the wayside if there wasn’t anything relevant. Amaya took the longer books, while I searched the small, more informationally compact ones.

After about an hour of intense searching, I’d already finished my pile. I took a couple books off of Amaya’s load and looked at them, but most of them had to do with legends and stories from other parts of the continent and the world, and none of them had anything to do with what we saw. Trust me, once you’ve seen one book about Greek Mythology, you’ve seen them all. A couple hours later, and we were already down to two books. Sure, years of getting beaten by the same three people had taught me patience, but even the most patient eleven year old would’ve given up by now. The only thing keeping me going was the worry that something could happen to my parents.

“Aha!” Amaya exclaimed, pointing at one particular page in the last book she had. “Wait, this isn’t a story  _ or  _ a legend.”

“Huh?” I said, leaning over. “ The Study of Dreams ? I mean, it’s kinda out there, but it’s been proven.”

“We were looking in the wrong place.” she said. The drawing on the page depicted two figures, one wearing a mage-like robe and a golden crown, radiating yellow light. The other figure was also dressed in the same robe, but wore a top hat and had a staff tipped with a figure of the moon, radiating black light.

“The protectors.” I said. “There’s no way….right!?” I said, shooting out of my chairs. A kid a few tables away shushed us, so I sat back down and started speaking in whispers. “I mean, they’re really powerful. And the black light belonged to a monster, not a protector.”

“I don’t know.” she said. “But there’s nothing else that produces the same light. Nothing else that we know of.”

“Doesn’t it say anywhere in here?” I said. “Let me see.” she handed the book to me, and I flipped to the table of contents. “Forty chapters!? And why are they all so long?”

“Shhhh!”

“Sorry.” I said. “Let’s check it out and look more closely at your place.”

“Right.”

We checked out the book, and I made a mental note to look in the right section next time. We went back to Amaya’s house, with her mother preoccupied with calling Amaya’s older sister, who lived abroad for college. We spent the rest of the day flipping through the section about the protectors before sundown hit.

“It says here they only show themselves to humans in dreams.” I said.

“In dreams.” she said. “Maybe there was a really good reason. Wasn’t the light one fighting a monster?”

“Yeah.”

“Isn’t that strange?” she said, pointing to the page again. “We think they might be the protectors. Isn’t the Protector of the Day Dreams supposed to protect the day, while the Protector of the Night Dreams protects the night? So where was the night protector?”

“I don’t know. He quit?” I said.

“Whatever happened, I bet that’s why the day protector was fighting something. And maybe it had something to do with those dreams you were having.”

“I haven’t had any lately.” I said. “So maybe it’s gone.”

She sighed. “Better safe than sorry. We have to go stop the nighttime villains from exposing us, so we’ll also keep an eye out for anything else dangerous.” She then looked out the window and added, “We go out at eight. Half past eight. We can’t transform in the daytime without attracting attention, and that’s close enough to before nine that we should be able to find them before everyone else does.”

“Right.” I said. I then raised my fist, and said, “PJ Masks, we’re on our way!”

“Into the night, to save the day!”

 

\---

 

After the town meeting, I went home and shut myself in my room, cleaning Lionel’s terrarium, and clearing out all those old books I had laying around. Then, my mom had to go to work, so she made me go over to Amaya’s house so I wouldn’t be alone. I stood in front of her door for two minutes before deciding against it, sitting on the stoop of my house while watching the neighbors.

I must have fallen asleep at some point, because I felt someone shaking me. I then opened my eyes and saw Cameron. As soon as he saw me awake, he jumped away, suddenly sheepish.

“....Cameron?” I mumbled, still half asleep.

“Wanna play basketball?” he asked, clearly hesitant. “I have a net in my driveway.”

“Sure!” I said, jumping up. We walked down to his house in silence, and when we got there, he grabbed a basketball from behind his trash cans.

“Do you know how to play knockout?” he asked. “It’s a little boring with only two people, though.”

“Not really.”

“Then we’ll just shoot hoops. I’ll teach you another day.”

He managed to make it into the net every time he threw it, and I could only hit the rim. After over ten tries, Cameron showed me how to throw the ball right, and I made it in about every fifth throw after that.

“I’m sorry about yesterday.” he said, after a long period of silence.

“Huh?”

“I was a huge jerk. You were trying to be nice, and I was treating you like shit.” he sighed. “So, uh, you wanna hang out tomorrow? After school? If that’s even happening.”

I felt a smile spread across my face. “If that’s fine with you.”

“You’re really chill, y’know?” Cameron laughed. “You never judge anyone.” He pulled his jacket tighter around himself, trying not to shiver. “Hey!” He then picked up the basketball and threw it behind the trash cans again. “Let’s go back inside. It’s freezing.”

We went inside his house, where Cameron’s little sister was asleep on the couch. We then watched a few episodes of  _ Team Ninja! _ , a popular show about colorful ninjas who fight against a team of evil shapeshifters, exclamation mark included. The only reason I remembered anything about it was because of the time Night Ninja tried to reenact one of the episodes with us, dressing up his ninjalinos in color coded costumes and almost blowing up the cafe in the process. 

He told me to be quiet because his mom was home, and she hated loud noises, especially when she was feeling ill. He looked a little depressed after telling me that, so I distracted him by asking to go biking through the forest tomorrow. That managed to get him talking about his bike nonstop.

“I fixed my bike recently.” he said. “I’m teaching Charlotte how to ride on my old one. Well, it’s not really my bike. It’s my cousins, but he left it here when he visited, so I’m claiming it.” He rambled on and on, like every second of conversation was worth gold. I didn’t mind being the listener, so I occasionally nodded while he kept talking.

“Cameron!” his mom yelled from her room.

“Gotto go check on mom real quick.” he said, jumping out of his seat. He then returned a few minutes later.

“What time do you need to go home?” he asked, trying to hide his frown.

“Uh, not until sundown.” I said.

“Wanna stay for a  _ little  _ bit longer?” he pleaded. “I wanna show you--actually, I need to make dinner for mom. Look through my toy chest for the white plastic bag!” He ran inside the kitchen, then popped his head back out for a second to add, “Don’t open it!”

“A-Alright!” I yelled. Charlotte took over the couch again when I left to get the bag. Cameron’s room was surprisingly clean, with his bed made, his closet and walls clean of posters or other decorations. The only thing decorated was the toy chest next to his bed, covered in stickers. I popped open the chest, digging around until I found the bag he was talking about.

“Huh?” I said. A piece of cloth was sticking out of the bag. I tried to tuck it back in, but it spilled out and landed on the floor. I gingerly picked it but with the intention to put it back in the bag, but froze.

It was a mask, with light blue striped decorating it, and slightly sparkly. But I’d already seen it way too many times to not recognize it on the spot.

It was Night Ninja’s mask.

“Greg! Dude, get over here!” I heard Cameron yell, and I hastily shoved the mask in my pockets before grabbing the bag and running.


	3. Chapter 3

We left at exactly the time we planned. Already there were a few adults out, but with my Cat Ears and Owlette’s Owl Eyes, we were able to maneuver out of base and away from any possible attention.

“Luna Girl’s at the soccer field.” she said.

“And I think I hear the Ninjalinos somewhere around there.” I added. “We should have enough time to warn them before they’re spotted.” We avoided going through town, sticking hiding in the forest and behind houses, while also keeping an eye out for those supposed protectors. The whole while, I hoped to whatever was out there that nothing bad would happen. Didn’t I learn enough lessons over the years? Or did something just have it out for us?

I pushed those thoughts out of my head. Focus on the mission, Connor! FOCUS!

We managed to get to the soccer field behind the destroyed school without being spotted, where Luna Girl was kicking the soccer ball around, and her moths were acting as the players. The ninjalinos were also playing on the other team, with Night Ninja acting as the goalie.

“We’re three points ahead! There’s no way you can catch up!” Night Ninja taunted her.

“Ugh! Why can’t you play better?” she snapped at her luna moths. I looked at Owlette, sighed, then approached them.

“Hey! We need to talk!” I yelled. They froze, and their sidekicks got behind them, ready to attack.

“What’s this about?” she groaned. “We haven’t done anything wrong!”

“They always want to ruin our fun.” Night Ninja said, turning his nose up. “Why did I even bother to show up? Now that you’re all buddy-buddy with these  _ heroes-- _ ” he sneered at the word, “--you’ll do whatever the hell they ask you to.”

“No I won’t!” she cried in indignation. “You know, I was having a way better time with my moths until  _ you _ showed up!”

“You’re just scared that my ninjalinos are ten times--no, a hundred times better than your silly little moths will ever be!” Night Ninja boasted.

“Why, I oughta!” Luna Girl crossed her arms and stood toe to toe with Night Ninja. It probably would've turned into an all out brawl if I had any patience for their nonsense tonight.

“God, that’s enough! I don’t have time for this! You don’t! None of us do!” I grabbed Night Ninja and Luna Girl and tore the fight apart.

“Don’t group me in with you!” Night Ninja snapped. Luna Girl sighed, walking away and jumping on her luna board that her moths had prepped for her. She then took off towards the moon….to wherever she lived.

“Listen already! We’re not trying to stop you.” I said. It seems like we weren’t gonna get any information out of anyone tonight. Whatever. There’s always tomorrow. At least, there will be, if I could get this stubborn jerk to listen. When we were younger, he’d understand when the situation was too drastic for arguments, but now he’s annoyingly stubborn and reckless.

“Yeah, right!” he snapped. “You stupid pests never let me do anything fun.”

“This is really important!” Owlette stepped in. “I know it’s almost physically impossible, but you need to listen. Your identity is at stake.”

“Wooow, I totally care.” he sighed. “Not! Ninjalinos, get them out of here!” Night Ninja reached to his wrist and tapped, his ninjalinos then jumping to his side obediently. They withdrew their sticky splats, and we jumped into our fighting stances.

What we didn’t expect was for his ninjalinos to turn in the opposite direction and unload their splats on Night Ninja, causing him to fall over and be stuck to the ground.

“Oh, what was  _ that  _ for!?” he snapped, struggling against his restraints. One of the Ninjalinos bent down to his ear and whispered something, making him more mad. “I don’t need you to tell me what to do! I’m the leader here!” The ninjalino stomped on the ground, pointing at us while speaking in incomprehensible gibberish. How does Night Ninja manage to understand that? Maybe it has something to do with the mask.

After all this back and forth, Owlette took off to make extra sure that Romeo wasn’t somewhere out tonight. And honestly, if he is, I will deck him before he could say a word. Night Ninja may be hot headed, but Romeo’s ego is as insufferable as an unscratchable itch in your throat that makes you cough for hours.

“Ugh, fine.” After their very long and time consuming conversation. Night Ninja conceded to listening to what I had to say. I told him about the meeting this morning, but he hardly showed any surprise. He  _ has _ to have known already.

“I have my ninjalinos scouting the city while I watch from my secret lair.” he bragged. Liar. He was in the crowd with the rest of us, right? Then again, that doesn’t narrow down his identity, since there were so many people there. I could probably rip his mask off if I was curious enough, but I’m sure that’s one transgression his ninjalinos wouldn’t let happen.

“Whatever you say. And I don’t care how sneaky you think you are, there’s no way you can avoid a bunch of people crawling around for the very purpose of finding us. And by us, I mean the PJ Masks. They’ll see you as the villain you are!”

“So why do you care?” he said, pulling at the splats. “They treat me like a villain, and you’ll get all the recognition you want!”

“Because you know our real identities!” I said. “You saw our faces years ago; I doubt you’re not smart enough to see us in the daytime and connect the dots. And if you rat us out, then we can’t be heroes anymore. They won’t let us.” Not only that, but we’ll never find out the truth behind those lights and that monster. I almost wanted to say that aloud, but it was a whole ‘nother mess that I didn’t need to explain to him yet.

“Well, now that I have the idea….” he laughed, but the glare from one of his ninjalinos brought him to agreement. “Fine. I’ll hide.”

“We’ll take you to HQ.” I said.

“Ugh.”

“We don’t want you running off and revealing us if we let you go.” I said.

“What about Luna Girl? Romeo? Only  _ I _ have to be dragged and held hostage in your dumb HQ?”

“Luna Girl wouldn’t tell.” I said with conviction. “And at least Romeo had the sense to stay home tonight. So you’re coming with us.”

With that, I trusted the ninjalinos to keep him pinned while I used my communicator to contact Owlette. She confirmed that he was the only nighttime villain out, and she flew back to school. We ripped him off the ground and pinned his arms behind his back, and the ninjalinos followed. There were already people beginning to surround the school, so it was harder than we thought to get back to base unnoticed.

“Crap, hide!” Owlette said, and we ducked behind a bush. Night Ninja had given up on being uncooperative and was trying as hard as we were to hide. At this point, the only way to get to HQ was crowded. Using her Owl Eyes again, Owlette took a look at what was happening around HQ, and gasped in shock.

“It’s surrounded.” she said. “There’s no way we can get close.”

“Now what?” Night Ninja said. “You guys are such idiots.”

“Shut up!” I yelled. A few heads turned in our direction, and Owlette slapped her hand over my mouth. Once they looked away and left, she shot me a glare.

“First of all, shut up, both of you,” she began, “Next, this isn’t the end of the world. Most of the town is gathered around HQ looking for us, but that just means there’s almost no one at our homes.” Night Ninja was about to say something, but she spoke faster than he did. “No, I’m not asking you to reveal your identity. You’ll stay at Connor’s house..”

“What?” I said. “No way. I’m not letting him into my home!”

“We don’t have a choice!” she said. “Birdy gets stressed when she’s woken up at night!”

“I am  _ not  _ staying at your house.” Night Ninja said. “No. Absolutely not. No way.”

“I’d rather get hit by a bus.”

“ _ I’d _ rather have a house dropped on my head!”

“Argh! Shut up!”

“You shut up!”

Owlette slapped her hands over both of us. “I hate you both.” she said. “Now follow my plan, or get caught. Your choice.”

I still hated Night Ninja, but I hated the thought of me bringing an end to the PJ Masks over a petty fight even more, so I agreed to her( _ terrible _ )plan. I held out my hand, and Night Ninja shot me a look before shaking it.

“Glad that worked out.” she said. “Now let’s get a move on! I think it’s almost nine, and we still need to get out before the real crowd comes in.”

“This sucks.” I mumbled, but we ran regardless. Luckily this entire town was surrounded by woods, otherwise it would be a lot harder to slink around. And, as showy as he is, Night Ninja isn’t half bad at sneaking.

….I wish Gekko was here. But with or without him, we managed to avoid the busy parts of town and make it back to my house. Owlette flew up to the window, but didn’t open it.

“Owlette, what’s up?” I said.

“It’s locked!” she yelled. “You parents must have locked it before they left. Wait, you think they saw you weren’t there?”

“No way,” I began, “I made a lump out of pillows, so unless they looked closely….well, actually, it probably wasn’t as convincing as I thought it was.”

“Catboy!” she snapped. “No, I can’t blame you. But I don’t think they’ll jump to conclusions that quickly. We need to focus on the mission.”

I wanted to say something, but I was interrupted by the cries of PJ Robot over the communicator.

“What’s wrong?” Owlette asked, being met with more cries of distress. “Let’s just go, Catboy!”

Suddenly, as if on cue, two lights streaked across the sky, in the direction of HQ. One yellow, the other black.

“We  _ really _ have to go!” I said. “But what about Night Ninja?” We turned to where we thought he was standing, but he was gone.

“Forget about him!” she said. “Just c’mon!”

“Right!”

We were so concerned about secrecy, that we never considered what would happen if a fight was taken directly to us. Last night, we couldn’t do much against it. But now, how could we stop it from attacking the whole town?

We didn’t know, but we had to try, like always.

People were running in the other directions, so they only spared a momentary glance towards us as we ran.

“Are those the--” a small child said before being grabbed by the arm and dragged off by his mom.

“This is really bad, in more ways than one.” Owlette gasped. She then took off into the air, finally catching the attention of other people. I figured it was too late to turn back now and activated my speed, racing through the crowded streets back to HQ.

“It’s them!” more people stopped to get a look at Owlette and I.

“Are those the guardians?”

“They’re smaller than I expected.”

“They’re animals?”

“Lab experiments?”

Once we got to HQ, we ran straight into an interesting sight. A barrier of light was cast around that monster we ran into earlier, with a girl wearing the robe and crown in the book hovering over her, holding a staff in her arm. She floated to the ground, and lightly tapped the staff against the ground, causing the barrier to collapse on the creature and vaporize it where it was lying.

“If only I could’ve gotten information on the location of its master….” she muttered to herself. Then, she looked down at--at  _ Night Ninja _ ?

Wherever he had run off to when we took our eyes off of him, he was right in front of the floating woman, looking like he was ready to fight her.

“Who are you?” he sneered. His ninjalinos looked ready to jump her and tackle her if need be.

She barely glanced at him. It was hard to tell if she was humored by him or saw him as nothing more than a weakling. Before he could get himself hurt, I stepped in front of him. Owlette’s eyes widened, then she followed me.

She seemed slightly surprised to see us. “The totem spirits are still here.” she breathed, then tapped her staff again. She was enveloped in a yellow light, which then faded, taking her with it.

“What was that?” Night Ninja breathed.

“A Protector.” Owlette muttered to herself. “I knew it.”

“What?”

“Use the internet and look it up yourself.” she said.

“Ughhh. I’m going home.” he sighed. “This is the worst, I blame you.” he pointed at me, before cartwheeling away with his ninjalinos.

“Please tell me that’s mission accomplished.” I said to Owlette. “I think I’ve had enough adventure for one day.”

“Yeah. But we should come back tomorrow. I mean, she has to come back again, right?”

“Absolutely!”

We hid in HQ, seeing that people were returning to the lake, watching them excitedly babble about seeing the guardians and the Protector. PJ Robot was especially excited to hear about it, promising to keep an eye out for any monsters and Protectors. It took until 1 am for everyone to go away, so once we ensured the safety of the town, we went back home to get a decent night's rest.

 

\---

 

Ever since I saw Night Ninja’s mask in Cameron’s stuff, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I managed to break away a half hour later, then hid it in my dresser. Every once in a while, I would take it back out and examine every thread, then put it back and pace in my room again. After I took it out for the tenth time that day, I gave up on my pondering and went to sleep early.

A mistake. When I woke up past eight, I saw that my dresser was ajar. The mask was taken while I slept, who knows when.

This doesn’t make any sense. Why would Cameron, assuming that he is Night Ninja, invite me into his house? Was he being dramatic, or just messing with me? 

I don’t know.

I really,  _ really  _ don’t know.

My instincts were screaming at me to forget about it and go to sleep. Whatever trouble he was causing, Owlette and Catboy could handle it better than me. But….

But….

Without thinking, I rummaged my drawers for those pajamas. I don’t even need to see them. I’ll go out, maybe ask him some questions, then leave. I have to know why. I have to.

Luckily, when I transformed and landed at base, they weren’t anywhere nearby. PJ Robot squealed in delight when he saw me, but I told him to keep me being here a secret from the other two and patted him on the head. I then used the picture finder to find where Catboy and Owlette were. They were running around with--with  _ Night Ninja _ ?

Oof. I continued scrolling around with the picture player. I should go home. I’m not a hero anymore, so I shouldn’t even be here. They don’t need Gekko.

On the outskirts of the city, I caught sight of a blinding light. It then disappeared, and in its place was a woman. She looked right at the screen, then raised her staff. I quickly shut off the player, but light was already consuming the room, taking me who knows where.

When I opened my eyes, I was floating in the sky.

“AHHHH!” I screamed. I’m really not a fan of heights. This was most of my nightmares come alive. Can I wake up? Please? “Put me down!”

In response, a cloud appeared beneath me. I fell for a second before landing on it, like a soft, pleasant pillow. The woman from earlier appeared again, giggling slightly. Looking down, the city was impossible to see through a thick layer of clouds, so there was no way to escape.

“Who are you!?” I asked.

“The Protector of the Day Dreams.” she said, matter of fact. She then created her own cloud and sat down. “I wish to speak with you. You are in possession of a totem spirit’s power, are you not?”

“I--I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I said. “Sorry.”

“Then explain your costume.” she said, crossing her legs. “Don’t play jokes with me. I can sense your power.”

“Power?”

She ignored my questions. “Anyway, as a Protector, it is my responsibility to account for all rogue totem spirits.” she continued.

“Rogue?”

“It must have not informed you. All totem spirits should belong to the sanctuary. Those that relocate to earth must do so with the express permission of the Protectors. Tell me, why haven’t you done so?”

Silence. “Are you asking me?” I said.

“That’s strange.” she said, putting a hand to her mouth. “Normally a spirit retains the ability of speech, even when fused with a human. What’s going on here?”

“Sorry.”

“No apologies necessary. Nevertheless, it seems that there are a number of mysteries here. Let me guess, you’ve been fused with this spirit for about five years?”

“I dunno. Depends on what you mean by fuse.”

“Forget that. I’ll assume that these concepts are confusing to humans. However, you must be aware of spirits and Protectors, correct?”

This is what I get for not paying attention during history. “Sort of.” I said.

“Good enough.” she said. “The rules that we have dictate that any rogue spirits are to be sealed. On the rare occasion that the spirit chooses to fuse with a human, we handle it on a case by case basis due to the danger involved in separating the two.”

“Danger?” I repeated. She smirked, and put her hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t even worry about it.” she laughed. “You have a soul full of--oh screw it, I’m done with this fancy talk.” She kicked back, then sighed. “Sorry, gotta stay all formal as a protector, but since both the Goddess and other Protector are gone, I’m all the authority the Sanctuary has left. You know how annoying it is to have to deal with every threat, every responsibility, every single thing by yourself?”

“Uh,” I sputtered, overwhelmed by her sudden change in personality. “Not really? We, I mean, the PJ Masks works as a team.”

“PJ Masks?” she said, tilting an eyebrow. “Sounds like something for five year olds. What’s that about?”

“It’s, um, there’s two other kids that can transform like me.” I said. “Connor and Amaya. They live next door.”

“Hm.” she said, then cleared her throat. “Listen, I don’t wanna scare you, but we usually don’t allow children to run around with those powers. Buuut, you seem like a good kid.” she said. “And given what I saw yesterday, your friends are only trying to protect these people, right? I can’t punish that.”

“Thanks.” I said. “I, I really have no idea what you’re talking about, but you won’t do anything to them, right?”

“To them, no.” she said. “But I need you to help me. Whether you’re using your powers or not doesn’t matter. If you’re not using them to defend people, either we take you to the Sanctuary forever, or you can help us with a mission in exchange for your freedom.”

“Wait,” I started, standing up with a jolt. “Forever!?” I barely registered most of what she said beside that. How was I supposed to respond to that? All we did was, was….

What did we do again?

A sudden headache pulsed through me, and I grabbed my head in pain. That’s right. There was that whole incident with Luna Girl. Despite that, it felt like something was nagging at me.

“I don’t understand,” I said. “But I don’t want to leave home.”

“It’s an easy decision then.” she said, holding out her hand. “Don’t worry. Whatever the threat is, it’ll be my biggest priority to protect both worlds. That’s my duty as a Protector.”

“But, I’m not sure what you want from me. I’m not really that great at being a hero, either…”

She groaned. “I have lots of power to share. If you need a boost, I’d be willing to lend a bit. All I need you to do is what you claim is your job: protect who you hold dear. Is that a deal?”

A deal with a devil, or an angel? Armed with my lack of understanding and desperation....

I had no choice but to accept her handshake.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day was a complete disaster. Everybody was absolutely forbidden from going outside as a result of the attack between the monster and the Protector. The mayor pledged to investigate, calling in some dream and spirit specialists to find out why this is happening here. Along with that, class was suspended until further notice, with the student council being called in to a make-shift meeting outside the smoldering ruins of our school to facilitate a discussion between students and faculty on on how and where to have outside classes until the buildings were safe to use. Us, along with the high school council were going to submit a joint proposal to the district faculty. Whether it’s going to matter much is up in the air, but it’s a nice effort regardless.

There were about eight other members. Me (the president), the vice president (who didn’t show up because she  _ obviously _ hates my guts), the event organizer, Beth, the treasurer, Herme, and the four representatives from other grades. Those were Nicholas, Aaron, Julia, and Martha.

“So, the locations we’re choosing from include a couple designated spaces near the woods, and a place near the local park for the elementary school.” I began. “The plan is for the park to be alternated between the elementary and the middle school, while the space in the woods needs to be as safe as possible because it’s going to be used by all schools. Any questions?”

Martha raised her hand first. “Are the woods the only option?” she groaned. “I don’t wanna sit in the dirt all day!”

“Isn’t there an empty building we can use?” said Nicholas.

“We’re still arranging the details.” Herme said, staring intently at his laptop. “These are our worst case scenario options, but we still need to vote.”

“Sure, sure.” said Aaron, chewing on the strings of his oversized hoodies. “Let’s use the one closest to town. That seems like the safest option.”

“I agree.” Julia chimed in. “My vote’s for that one.”

“Same here.” said Martha.

The meeting was leagues quicker than usual. Maybe because they’re tired of school and consider all this destruction a nice vacation.

But I’m a hero. I don’t have time for breaks.

As soon as I got home, I dragged Connor out of the house and sent him to the library to comb the correct sections this time. I used the computer at his house (all the ones at the library were too slow) to perform extensive research that we wouldn’t find in books.

Most research I could find on the Protectors was buried under a myriad of academic language that I could barely parse through. The gist of it described the Protectors as guardians of both humanity and spirits, which made sense. With what I saw last night, I figured it was safe to assume that she was on our side. Everything else I found either said something similar or required money to read. 

Next, I tried to look up more on spirits, but there was very little information. From the few interactions with the Protectors, we are aware that spirits exist; we also know that they have something to do with our dreams, but that’s the extent of it. Whether they choose to be secretive because of tradition for a secret that could endanger us, no one knows. Apparently they’re a lot more common on the other side of the globe, but a nearby city has a number of sightings that make it like a tourist attraction.

Connor returned with a number of books on the subject, but parsing through them revealed nothing but conjecture and theories without much backing. One of them had a section on cursed artifacts, but despite how extensive it was, the entire thing was based on a few shoddy witness accounts.

“This is useless.” Connor sighed. “Instead of sitting around and reading books, how about we go up to that protector and make her tell us what’s going on?”

“That sounds like a good idea.” I said, rolling my eyes. “We can’t rush into things. How many times do you have to learn?”

He scratched his head. “Right. Sorry.” He then kicked back a little, borrowing my tablet and idly searching for more information. “How come there’s so little information?”

I shrugged. “Lack of access.” I said. “Or the spirits aren’t terribly forthcoming with information. Most likely both.”

“That sucks.” he said, turning it off again. “So what’re we supposed to do?”

“Whatever we can.” I said. “We go out at night, we can ask Luna Girl, Night Ninja, and Romeo if they know anything.”

“Luna Girl might.” he said. “She’s closest to being magical. Night Ninja….ugh, you know how he is. And Romeo’s a scientist, right? Not the first person I’d ask about magic related topics.”

“It’s all we got.” I said.

Connor tapped his fingers against the screen. His eyebrows furrowed in worry, like he just remembered something important.

“....Speaking of Romeo.” Connor said, sitting up. “Is it just me, or has he gone missing? He hasn’t done anything since you freaked out on him.”

“I didn’t freak out.” I said. “And I’m sure he’s appeared after that.” Maybe his schemes were so bad they blew up in his face before we even noticed them.

“Did he?” Connor prodded, giving me a look. I tried to recall the past month, but now that 

I thought about it...he really disappeared, didn’t he? We haven’t seen since the beginning of the year, and it’s almost spring now.

“Uh, now I’m not so sure.” I sighed. “Really? You think he’s turning his life around?”

We both broke into laughter. “Hah, yeah, that’s a good one!” Connor said, wiping the tears from his eyes. Out of all the villains, Romeo is the one who despises us the most. Lately he’s had a rivalry with Night Ninja over that title, but at least he knows when the situation is serious and cooperation is needed. Romeo….he’s too stubborn for his own good. He’d rather have his plans blow up in his face and get himself in danger than admit that he  _ might  _ need help or need to work with us. Not only that, he’s betrayed and captured all of us and the other nighttime villains multiple times; even Luna Girl and Night Ninja would be happy to team up with us if it meant getting revenge on him.

“One less thing to worry about.” I said.

“Honestly, as long as he isn’t dead or in trouble, I don’t mind.” Connor said. “Not like I ever saw him as a friend.”

“Right. So, all in agreement for doing another round tonight?” I said.

“I’m in. PJ Masks, we’re on our way!”

“Into the night, to save the day!” I said, bumping his fist.

“You kids need anything?” Connor’s dad ducked his head in. “I’m heading to work, so if anything happens, call emergency and hide in the basement.”

Connor sighed. “Yeah, dad.”

 

\---

 

This time, we took the Owl Glider now that we didn’t need to worry. Before we started investigating, Catboy grabbed PJ Robot and took him to his house to fix his window lock, having broke it trying to get back in the house. After that, we let him follow around, since we we had that extra seat.

I couldn’t help but feel bad for Greg. Maybe the best thing I could do is try to talk to him again. Sure, things are awkward between him and Connor, but that doesn’t mean he should be left alone. I should say something tomorrow. Just don’t bring up anything relating to PJ Masks.

We landed at the park, where Luna Girl was playing a makeshift game of soccer with her moths. Note to self: make her return the sports equipment before we’re done.

“Oh, hey.” she said. She kicked the ball towards the goal, only for one of the moths to deflect it. “Darnit!”

“Looks like you’re having fun.” I said, catching the ball under my foot. “But we need to talk right now. Nothing to do with you, we just need information.”

She scoffed. “You guys are weird. If you play with me,  _ maybe  _ I’ll talk to you.”

“Sure!” Catboy said, jumping at the chance to play. Luna Girl had two of her moths sit out while we joined the opposite team.

The moths were actually exceptionally good players. Where did she get them? I doubt there’s a magic intelligent moth store she got them from. Are they spirits? People she turned people into moths? Scratch that, I can’t see her doing anything that horrible. 

I’m probably overthinking this. It’s probably some sorceress thing I don’t get, and I’m leaving it at that.

While I was distracted, Luna Girl managed to get behind me and score a point. “Get your head in the game, featherbrain!” she jeered.

“You better watch your back!” I taunted back. “Luck always favors the underdog.”

“We’ll see about that.”

The match went on for thirty minutes, with the score bouncing back between our team and hers. Finally, after a lucky strike on my part, we managed to pull ahead again before she stopped the game.

“I’ve had enough.” she said, flopping onto the grass. “Let’s take a break.” We took a seat next to her, and I began to dig for information.

“Do you know anything about the Protectors?” I asked.

“Psh, duh.” she said. “Who doesn’t? Oh, let me guess. You don’t.”

“You don’t need to rub it in.” Catboy said. “But if you don’t wanna have to hide from constant monster fights, then help us!”

“Fine, if you’re begging that much.” she snickered, trying to act tough. Despite her attitude, she’s basically our ally. Though if I said that out loud, she might try to steal the playground equipment to prove that she’s still a villain. She can be...like  _ that _ . “The Protectors are these two magical beings that protect those that dream in the day and night.” She crossed her legs and sighed. “There’s two of them. They live in the Sanctuary, which is some other dimension no one can get to.”

“And?” I prodded, and she shot me a glare.

“That’s all I know.” she said. “Hopefully you aren’t such idiots that you’ll try to get there. Only spirits can enter.”

“Can you?” I asked.

“No.” she said. “Now leave! You’re ruining my fun.” With that, she picked up the soccer ball again, but Catboy ran and stood in front of here.

“Where did you steal that soccer ball from?” he said.

“....Uh, run!” she yelled, catching the attention of her moths. She then jumped onto her luna board and took off, making me follow her to get the ball back.

 


	5. Chapter 5

_Greg, Connor, Amaya._

I knew everything about them. Where they lived. Where they went to school. Where they went to the dentist, doctor, their extended family-no matter where they ran, I could track them down with ease.

So why didn't I? What's stopping me?

I couldn't sleep at night.  _It felt like I got my best ideas after my midday naps_ , but now I was sleeping through the day, desperate for new ideas.  _Or maybe I wanted part of me to break._

No matter.  _It's here. My masterpiece._

My hands moved automatically. I felt half lucid, like I was seeing myself in a dream, yet it was the most alive I felt in a long time.  _This-This was my moment!_  Owlette could go on about how ineffective I am, but once she sees  _this_ , even she'll collapse in fear.

I won't show any mercy.

_I_   _have to destroy them. It's the only way._ It's the only way.

I rubbed my eyes. They were red and puffy from lack of good sleep, but I payed that no heed.  _Once I'm done with them, I won't have to worry about anything anymore._

After blinking a few times, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. A lady draped in a magician's robe, looking at me with a menacing expression. I slammed the button on my test remote, and a deadly laser shot in her direction, blowing another hole in the wall.

Was this some trick? There's no way they know, right?

_No, they don't. Just kill them already-like you've always wanted to._

I froze. Why am I saying this? I've never wanted to-

_No. I want them dead. If I really want to take over the world, I need them out of my way forever._

These were my thoughts, right?

_Of course they are. What else could they be_?

I felt fuzzy. Like I was watching myself go through the motions. Over and over. Was I...me?

A hand was on my shoulder.

_Don't worry. Just close your eyes, and you won't have to worry about anything anymore._

So I fell.

* * *

Was I always this indecisive?

Since Connor had caught a cold after staying out extra late last night to patrol, I had planned to triple check for any information about the Protectors. But instead, I stood outside Greg's house.

It was painfully obvious how much Connor missed Greg. Being a part of the PJ Masks was an important part of our lives, but I didn't think it was big enough that they would let it interfere with their friendship for so long. So, maybe if I tried to talk to Greg on more normal grounds, Connor could too. We don't have to talk about hero duties. Just-don't bring that up.

Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door. I heard voices inside, and then Greg opened the door.

"Amaya?" Greg said. "Um, do you need anything?"

"I wanted to know if you wanna hang out." I asked. "Is there someone else there?"

"...Give me a second." he said, and went back inside. After a minute, he came back and said, "Cameron's over. We were planning to go biking up the hills, if you want to come along."

"Sure!" I said. "It's good to get out sometimes."

"Yeah." he mumbled. He was constantly glancing over my shoulder and at the sidewalk. Three guesses as to what he was looking for. More specifically, who.

"Connor's a little under the weather." I said. "Do you want to visit him?"

"No!" he yelled, eyes widening in shock before he shook his head and regained his composure. "I mean, he's probably asleep, or, uh, doesn't want to be disturbed, and I'd really hate to….y'know…."

"It's fine!" I stopped him before he could worry himself into next week. "Bike ride, right? I'll go get mine."

"Can I come with you?" he asked.

"That's fine."

"Just give me a moment." he said, then ducked back into his house. I couldn't hear what they were talking about, but Greg reemerged a minute later and followed me. It didn't take long to grab it from my garage, but when we were about to walk back to his house, Greg put his hand on the handle bars and stopped the bike.

"Wait. We need to talk."

"What?" Is someone finally willing to break the ice in this awkward silence between them?

"It's about Cameron."

"Cameron?"

"He's-actually," he began, shuffling his feet. "Y'see, he let me inside his house a couple days ago, and, well, I found something."

"And that something is?" I said, feeling a pit inside my stomach.

"Night Ninja's mask." he said. He was biting on his lip so hard it bled a little. "In a box in his room. I-It was an accident, but I really don't know what to do!" His hands shook as he clenched his fists, staring at the ground.

"Cameron is….Night Ninja?" I mumbled, quickly looking back on my memories to see if there was a connection I missed. "But that doesn't make any sense!"

"Cameron's frustrated with everyone, Night Ninja  _really_ hates us." he explained. "Dunno."

I can't deny that finding Night Ninja's mask in his house is pretty damning evidence. Ugh, it bugs me. Doesn't he know what we look like? Why would he willingly be friends with his mortal enemies (Night Ninja's words, not mine)? He never struck me as particularly calculating. It could be possible that he's trying to befriend Greg to pull something on the rest of us later, but that seemed so  _unlike_ him.

"I don't know what to say." I answered. "Let's keep an eye on him. There's no reason to go as far as exposing our identities to him, but if he really is Night Ninja, then we can't leave him be."

He smiled. "Thanks, Amaya. You always know what to do."

"You're pretty capable yourself." I said, dragging the bike down the sidewalk. I didn't try to press the topic of rejoining the PJ Masks. If he wants to come back, he can, and if he doesn't, I still want to be his friend.

Hopefully one day Connor will feel the same way.

We went back to Greg's house in silence. Cameron was watching a sitcom on TV, unaware of our shared unease. Greg was easily able to play calm and chat with him, but I couldn't get rid of my discomfort.

"Did you hear what happened?" Cameron said. He seemed uncomfortable with me being here, as if I was intruding on some sacred space.

"What?" I said.

"Remember that weird totem thing by the lake? Looks like it almost got destroyed. And there was this huge light over town last night. The news is saying it was some kinda UFO, but doesn't that sound totally bunk?" He flicked the channel over, where they were sharing blurry photos of last night's incident (thankfully no one got a clear shot of us).

"Yeah." I said. The base around the totem was burned, but it was still standing. If PJ Robot isn't already starting repairs, I should tell him to get on that tonight. But that huge light….

"Was it bright and yellow?" I asked.

"Psh, so I've heard. You think it was a "spirit"?" Cameron laughed, putting air quotes around spirits like he couldn't believe it. She certainly didn't seem like a monster, but wasn't she searching for something? "Totem spirits"? Why would they want anything to do with our town?

Something to do with our totem base? With our powers?

"Why is there so much weird stuff happening?" I sighed.

"Don't ask me, but I wouldn't be surprised if a giant monster came outta nowhere and attacked the town." he sighed. "Just hope it doesn't get to my house."

"I'm sure everything will be fine." Greg said. "How about we go biking? The day's not getting any younger!"

"That's what I'm talking about!" Cameron cheered, eager to get out of the house. He sprang off of the couch and made a beeline for outside. Cameron and Greg grabbed their bikes that were tied to the post next to the shed and pulled them along to the forest.

"Check this thing out!" Cameron said, tilting his bike so we could get a better look. "I got it with my own money."

It was painted black with flames added, along with a couple stickers of little angels. Some fancy mountain bike made for younger riders. How did he get the money for that?

"Looks expensive. Does your mom give you a huge allowance?" I asked, but it seemed like I came off as rude. His face flushed red as he yelled, "None of your business, so don't ask!"

"Amaya." Greg whispered, nudging my shoulder.

"Sorry!" I spat. "Um, I think it's cool."

"...Whatever." Cameron said, looking at the ground. But how could he afford something like that? Is his family secretly rich, and he took the money? He's too young to have a job….

Or did he steal it in the night as Night Ninja?

No, me. No PJ Masks stuff-I promised myself that I wouldn't bring it up to Greg unless he wanted me to. What he told me about Cameron was on a personal basis; that doesn't mean that he wants to play detective with me.

I just need to enjoy this afternoon with my friend. That can't be that hard, can it?

Being in the forest brought back memories of our near constant fights with nighttime villains. Greg grimaced at the trees with slices in them, or burnt spots that became overgrown with plants.

"Can we make this between the three of us?" Cameron began.

"What's up?" Greg said.

"Do you guys ever hear a bunch of noise at night? And see weird lights?"

We both froze. There's no way Cameron didn't notice that.

"It's probably nothing." I said.

"Doubt it. Maybe it has something to do with all the weird destruction going on." he said, shaking his head. "That's it! We can camp out for the night and try to find out what's going on!"

"No!" Greg cried, then clamped a hand over his mouth. "I-I mean, we shouldn't do that. Our parents might find out."

"Mine won't." Cameron said nonchalantly. "If you guys aren't gonna do it, then I can go by myself."

"I can't let you go! What if you get into danger?" Greg begged. Cameron wrinkled his nose, getting more frustrated by the minute.

"Nevermind, then! Ugh, you're such a baby." he snapped.

"Greg isn't a baby." I said. "He doesn't want you to get hurt is all."

"I didn't ask for anyone's concern." he grumbled. "And if someone doesn't do something, this entire town is gonna be fried to oblivion."

"I hope it doesn't come to that." Greg muttered. "H-Hey, let's race down the hill!"

"Okay!" Cameron and I said, eager to change the subject. Once we reached the forest, we hopped on our bikes and rode down the path. We made it to the hill, dragging our bikes behind us like a bag of rocks. Cameron disregarded his safety and rode down the hill without holding onto the handle bars. His bike wobbled a few times, but he made it to the bottom safely.

"Cameron!" Greg shouted, petaling to the bottom as fast as possible. I was going to follow them….

When I heard a creak.

A large crack ripped through the air, and I barely had time to ride down the hill before it was torn right through. I fell on the ground, pulling myself up to my feet to see a giant robot. It was designed like a robot lizard with metal blades mounted on its back, and long arms that stretched out as long as needed, not to mention its menacing red eyes that looked like they were there for more than show and its gaping mouth lined with saw-like teeth.

" _What is that_!?" Cameron screamed, hiding behind a tree.

"...Romeo!?" Greg and I shouted at the same time, earning a look of confusion from Cameron. The robot leaned in close, close enough to see someone in a bubble pit where the nose would normally be. Romeo was there, hair and clothes disheveled, goggles haphazardly hanging over his shoulder. He was holding onto the controls like he would rip them in half if he had a little less self control.

"It's my lucky day!" he laughed, in a sick and twisted way I never expected to hear from him. "I can finally squash the PJ Masks  _like the trash they are_!"

"Why are you doing this!?" I yelled. What the hell got into him!? Destroying the town in the middle of the day! Did he actually want to go to jail!?

Okay, I had to admit that I was slightly relieved he was still alive, but that little patch was wiped away by sheer panic.

"I have to get rid of you! It's the only way!" he screamed, grabbing his hair and yanking clumps of it out. "You're all nightmares! So just die already!"

"Run!" I yelled, and Greg and I ran in different directions.

Cameron didn't get the memo. Romeo used one hand to rip the tree out of the ground, and the other hand to grab Cameron.

"Cameron!" I yelled.

"What should we do!?" Greg yelled. "We can't transform in the daytime! Unless-"

"Looks like you left something here!" Romeo taunted, holding onto Cameron by one leg. He was in hysterics, crying and banging against the arm to no avail. "Oops!" He threw Cameron in the air and barely caught him. "Haha! Wouldn't want him to go  _splat!"_

" _What the hell, Romeo_?!" I screamed. "Greg, call Connor right now!"

Greg nodded wordlessly, scrambling to grab his cell phone and call him. He stared at the screen, wrinkling his nose in thought.

"Tell him to get our PJs! I'll distract him before-"

"No!" Greg yelled. We had to run as Romeo used an arm to sweep his surroundings.

"What do you mean, no!? Cameron's gonna get hurt if we don't do something now!"

Greg stopped running. "I really didn't want to do this. She warned me against it, but I hope she won't mind if I borrow her power now."

"Who are you talking about?" I said. Greg clasped his hands together, and my world was flooded with light.

* * *

I tossed and turned. No matter how hard I tried to take a nap, I couldn't sleep at all. All this magical nonsense that we have to deal with is stressing me out. The only way I could take a break was to fake being sick. Amaya probably holed herself in the library, so I doubt I'm missing much.

Was it wrong of me to lie? I don't know, but there's not much I can do about it now.

"Connor!" My mom yelled. "Come here!"

At her call, I sprang out of bed and went to the living room. Dad was on the phone, and mom's eyes were transfixed on the TV in mute terror. My confusion quickly melted at the sight of the monitor.

A robotic reptile with weapons mounted on it and sweeping arms was being filmed from the sky. I easily recognized the surroundings as the local forest, and-

Greg and Amaya.

Or more like Gekko and Owlette.

Fighting a deadly opponent. Without me.

I was barely conscious of it. I ran out the door, barely aware of my parents cries to come back. I ran down the deserted street in a panic, then was suddenly engulfed in a bright light.

I screamed, instinctively clamping my hand down on my wrist as a pain seared through it. My skin was glowing like pure light was coursing under it.

I couldn't grasp my surroundings; light flowing thickly around me, trapped in a whirl of pure energy. Then, a voice.

"Your friends are in trouble." A young women called out to me from who knows where. "Take my power and transform so you can help them. Quickly!"

"I, what!?" I stuttered. "Who are you!? What's going on here?"

"There's no time for questions!" she yelled. An image flashed in my eye of Gekko struggling to hold back one of the robot arms while Owlette flew above the machine, a look of panic on her face. It was obvious where her attention was: Cameron was dangling from the grasp of the machine.

"Innocent lives are in danger!" she insisted. "With my power, all you need is the energy the totem spirits left within you in your bracelet! Your friends are also borrowing my power, so there's nothing to fear! Please!"

"Friends….?" Whatever this thing was, did it get to Greg and Amaya? And, wait a minute…. "I've seen you in a dream."

"There's no time for this!" she yelled.

"Fine then!" I said. "I'll trust you!"

"I won't disappoint."

The light that was swirling around me converged and charged into my bracelet. The very impact of all that power at once made me dizzy.

I felt a shove on my back, and I stumbled forward a few steps. The energy surgered and began to form my costume, but it stopped halfway.

"What is this!?" A deeper, more masculine voice shouted. "I will not allow this strange intrusion!"

"It's not a-I mean, I think…." My head pounded from the raw energy. I could barely even question these voices or my own actions. "In a dream. She's in my dreams."

"Dreams!?" the voice cried. The faint image of a blue tiger flashed in my memories.

There's no way….it's that tiger, the same one we met when we-

"The Day Protector is here." The tiger fully entered my vision. In the blinding light, it was the only thing that didn't make me wanna rip my eyes out. "If it's her, then the situation must be dire. Whatever threat is out there, you must defeat it no matter what."

"Of course! I can't sit by and let my friends get into danger!" I yelled.

"Once this is over, we can explain everything to you." The blue tiger from my childhood said. "For now, you must do your duty. As my partner."

It would be a lie if I claimed to know what I was doing. Why the day protector was willing to help a bunch of strangers, and why a cryptic message from long ago would have any relevance to now.

But if there was one thing I knew, it was that Gekko and Owlette wouldn't rush into things without thinking. If they could weigh their options and still decide that this was a good idea, then it's not wrong for me to either.

Right?


End file.
